Category Archives: Beer

A few months ago, my friend Suzanne started talking about how she wanted to open a biergarten in Detroit. Little did I know that what I thought at the time was small talk, in the same way you’d casually say “I want to learn how to hang glide” or “I want to visit Turkmenistan”, would turn into the coolest place to spend an autumn Sunday afternoon. Keep in mind, I didn’t realize at first that she was talking about a temporary pop-up operation. But had I known she was serious, I never would have doubted for a moment- when Suzanne wants to make something happen, it happens!

She and her partner Aaron assembled a crack team of friends and colleagues to work on the project, each contributing of their talents pro bono (photography, graphic design, marketing, build-out, etc). I was in the thick of wedding planning and wasn’t able to lend any assistance until the day before opening, but Marvin was on board from day one. Even hearing tidbits from him about the development of the project, though, it was still surprising and impressive to see it come so successfully to fruition.

The biergarten was dubbed “Tashmoo“, a name that may sound strange given that they’re going for a traditional European-style vibe, but which carries a lot of local significance. It was the name of a steamboat that operated in the Detroit River from 1900 to 1936 between Detroit and Port Huron (thus the anchor in the Tashmoo logo), and supposedly means “meeting place” in some Native American language (a curious language nerd, I searched to see which one and came up empty-handed, other than a reference to an Algonquin word for a lake in Massachusetts). Regardless of nomenclature, though, I think most people were just interested in having an excuse to drink good beer and socialize outdoors on a beautiful 70° day. And let’s admit, much as we all love Roosevelt Park and Eastern Market, it was a welcome change of scenery to hang out in a different neighborhood.

Many of the GUDetroit crew had planned to go right when they opened, at noon. I was initially shooting to be there early as well, but ended up missing all of them so I just waited until late afternoon. The second I stepped outside, I was kicking myself for not having been outdoors sooner- it was a gorgeous warm fall day the likes of which we may not see again until next year. I got down to the West Village around 5:45, just in time to beat the rush of people coming after the Lions game (and, I suspect, some who had only recently woken up from the previous night’s debauchery… or their afternoon nap?).

B

Beer in hand, I made the rounds chatting with friends while Marvin did what he does best. The crowd was a nice mix of people I knew from different circles- singles, couples, families all enjoying the great weather and cornhole (slightly monopolized by the kids, but the grownups will get their turn this Saturday). In addition to 5 Michigan beers on tap, there were two local food vendors (who will rotate in the coming weeks), Porktown Sausage and People’s Pierogi. As a meat-eater I went for the brat, beer’s natural partner, at least according to most Midwesterners. I even got the pierogi folks to spot me a bit of their sauerkraut. These are no factory-stuffed sausages- the Porktown guys make their brats by hand and perfectly season them with a nice hit of juniper and garlic.

A

Around 8pm the crowd was treated to a screening of “People Mover”, a short film featuring several musicians, poets and chefs of my acquaintance (and many others I’d heard of but not yet seen). The crowd watched with hushed attention, erupting into spontaneous cheers a few times as various familiar faces came on screen.

After the flick, we said our goodbyes and headed out to catch a short set at the Lager House by our talented friends (and fellow newlyweds) James & Melissa Rae… my final bit of vacation before starting back to work. On the bright side, at least there are four more Sundays of Tashmoo to look forward to! And they’re bringing in different beers each week, so what better excuse for return visits?